Looks like since Washington State was the Pac-12 team with a representative on the committee that designed the playoffs, they aren't going to budge from a 6/6 auto/at-large split to a 5/7 auto/at-large split. Result? Looks like the Big Ten and SEC might break away and stage their own playoffs without anybody else.

> Looks like since Washington State was the Pac-12 team with a representative on the committee that designed the playoffs, they aren't going to budge from a 6/6 auto/at-large split to a 5/7 auto/at-large split. Result? Looks like the Big Ten and SEC might break away and stage their own playoffs without anybody else.

Source of this "proposed breakaway"? Not that it's never going to happen - I think everybody here agrees that, eventually, college football breaks away from the NCAA, mainly because it pretty much has to - but the SEC and Big Ten aren't quite big enough yet to pull this off.
Keep in mind that the rest of the FBS schools can stop that by changing the NCAA Bylaws to prevent a playoff that is not supported by at least three conferences. and you try telling Penn State's wrestling, LSU's women's gymnastics, and pretty much all of the Big Ten's men's (and a number of women's) ice hockey programs that they're no longer eligible to compete for a national championship because the conference's football programs threw a hissy fit.

Meanwhile, how likely is it that the Pac-whatever champion is going to be ranked higher than the second-highest conference champion of the Group of 5 conferences?

On Tuesday, February 6, 2024 at 9:56:24 AM UTC-5, JGibson wrote:
> Looks like since Washington State was the Pac-12 team with a representative on the committee that designed the playoffs, they aren't going to budge from a 6/6 auto/at-large split to a 5/7 auto/at-large split. Result? Looks like the Big Ten and SEC might break away and stage their own playoffs without anybody else.

Meant CFP, not CPF.

On Tuesday, February 6, 2024 at 11:35:39 AM UTC-5, The NOTBCS Guy wrote:
> Meanwhile, how likely is it that the Pac-whatever champion is going to be ranked higher than the second-highest conference champion of the Group of 5 conferences?

Fair to good? Using new P4 alignments and Sagarin final:

2023 OSU was #19, 5th cc behind Mich, Geo, KSU and FSU. Also NDSU, but they aren't gof.
2022 OSU was #11, 4th cc behind ccs Geo, tOSU, Utah.
2021 OSU was #44, 6th cc behind Geo, tOSU, OkSU, Boise, Louisiana
2020 OSU was #91, 10th cc behind Bama, tOSU, Clem, BYU, BallSt, Coastal, SanJose, Tulsa, Marshall
2019 WSU was #46, 9th cc behind LSU, tOSU, Clem, Baylor, Memph, App, USAF, FlAtl,
2018 WSU was #20, 5th cc behind Clem, Bama, tOSU, WVU

That's 4 out of 6.

Also, Sagarin loves NDSU. And the MAC had a great year in 2020--- runner up Buffalo was #12. Also, the new B12 had a different best team every single year, which is cool and promising.

Also, 5 is enough. Sometimes the 6th cc stinks.

On Tuesday, February 6, 2024 at 11:35:39 AM UTC-5, The NOTBCS Guy wrote:
> > Looks like since Washington State was the Pac-12 team with a representative on the committee that designed the playoffs, they aren't going to budge from a 6/6 auto/at-large split to a 5/7 auto/at-large split. Result? Looks like the Big Ten and SEC might break away and stage their own playoffs without anybody else.
> Source of this "proposed breakaway"? Not that it's never going to happen - I think everybody here agrees that, eventually, college football breaks away from the NCAA, mainly because it pretty much has to - but the SEC and Big Ten aren't quite big enough yet to pull this off.
> Keep in mind that the rest of the FBS schools can stop that by changing the NCAA Bylaws to prevent a playoff that is not supported by at least three conferences. and you try telling Penn State's wrestling, LSU's women's gymnastics, and pretty much all of the Big Ten's men's (and a number of women's) ice hockey programs that they're no longer eligible to compete for a national championship because the conference's football programs threw a hissy fit.

Yahoo article. But what stops the SEC and Big Ten from making their own new NCAA with all these other sports? Now that UCLA, USC, Washington, and Oregon are in the Big Ten, and Oklahoma and Texas are in the SEC, which schools are they going to miss? The Big Ten can still run their own ice hockey league, and are they really worried about all the D3 schools that have D1 ice hockey programs and not being part of that? Plus, the newly formed SEC/Big Ten alliance could invite whatever schools they wanted from the ACC or Big 12.

> Meanwhile, how likely is it that the Pac-whatever champion is going to be ranked higher than the second-highest conference champion of the Group of 5 conferences?

First one is most likely from the American (although it wasn't this year). With Oregon State and Washington State forming a football allegiance with the Mountain West, that one is actually the most likely for a second team, although again wouldn't have been this year.

> > Source of this "proposed breakaway"? Not that it's never going to happen - I think everybody here agrees that, eventually, college football breaks away from the NCAA, mainly because it pretty much has to - but the SEC and Big Ten aren't quite big enough yet to pull this off.
> > Keep in mind that the rest of the FBS schools can stop that by changing the NCAA Bylaws to prevent a playoff that is not supported by at least three conferences. and you try telling Penn State's wrestling, LSU's women's gymnastics, and pretty much all of the Big Ten's men's (and a number of women's) ice hockey programs that they're no longer eligible to compete for a national championship because the conference's football programs threw a hissy fit.
> Yahoo article. But what stops the SEC and Big Ten from making their own new NCAA with all these other sports? Now that UCLA, USC, Washington, and Oregon are in the Big Ten, and Oklahoma and Texas are in the SEC, which schools are they going to miss? The Big Ten can still run their own ice hockey league, and are they really worried about all the D3 schools that have D1 ice hockey programs and not being part of that? Plus, the newly formed SEC/Big Ten alliance could invite whatever schools they wanted from the ACC or Big 12.

One thing that stops them: CBS's contract with the NCAA for the men's basketball championship, which runs through 2032.
After that, I wouldn't be surprised if the Big Ten / SEC conglomerate gets big enough to take in enough football and "basketball-only" schools to be able to conduct legitimate national championships in those sports, at which point the NCAA (which will still be in business) can cut a deal with it; the NCAA will get rid of its current rule where if a team is invited to an NCAA championship and declines, it cannot compete in any nonconference postseason event (the only thing this really applies to now is the Heritage Bowl, and even at that, the Division I Football Committee jumps through flaming hoops to make sure that no team that even has a chance of being in the Heritage Bowl will be in the FCS tournament), and the NCAA will allow these "breakaway" schools to compete in its other championships.
Another advantage: in the sports where the Big Ten/SEC does not call the shots, conferences can be regionalized, seriously reducing costs - does Duke really have to travel to play field hockey, or tennis, at Cal and Stanford, or Penn State at Washington and Oregon (and then again, at USC and UCLA)?

One problem: do the two conferences invite schools that are good in baseball, but not in football or basketball, to prop up the baseball situation? What about women's volleyball, or men's ice hockey? If you add enough ACC schools, what about lacrosse? If you keep having to add teams, eventually this becomes the NCAA all over again, complete with the NCAA's problems.